Eternity in Heaven, Forever in Hell
by xDisenchanted-Last-Wordsx
Summary: Bella has at last turned into vampire. But when she and Cullens have to leave Forks forever, because Edward has broken the treaty with the Quileutes by biting a human, their journey and their destination holds more surprises and tragedies than expected.
1. Waking Up

I felt like I was waking up from a coma as the fire coursing through me slowly ebbed.

"Bella?" Edward's voice called from far away.

"Yes?" I answered, sighing. With the sigh, the pain ended. I tried to force my eyelids apart, but it wasn't working.

"How do you feel?"

As he spoke, a sensation washed over me. It was a strange combination of hunger and thirst, like if I drank water or something like it the hunger would go away as well.

"Like I've spent the past three days stranded in the desert."

I heard a low chuckle. "Good, her transformation went well, then," Carlisle murmured.  
My eyes chose that moment to spring open. When they focused I found Edward's black eyes staring into mine. Dark purple rings underlined their fierce beauty.

"'And so, the red wine of life ceased to flow within her. Ay, the agony of youth, lost!'" he murmured, taking my hand. I knew he was quoting somebody-in my muddled state, I didn't know who. He raised our hands to press my wrist to his nose, inhaling deeply before letting my hand fall.

"You smell like your old self, still," he said. "But who knows how much longer that will last?" His voice was agonized. I felt a need to comfort him.

"Please," I begged, touching his face with my free hand. "Don't be sad." He smiled a melancholy smile, but I could see the misery lurking in his eyes.

There was a silence. Alice broke it after a while, to ease the tension.

"Let's take her hunting," she suggested brightly. "She needs to learn the tools of the trade."

Edward pulled me hesitantly to my feet after I'd sat up. He had told me that I would be strong, stronger than Emmett, when I became newborn, but he was still so careful. I let go of his hand and walked forward a few steps. Then I was flying around the room, giddy.

"I feel like I'm gliding," I said, my voice high with exhiliration. "And for once, I'm not falling on my face!"

"Dang it!" Emmett said loudly. Jasper and Rosalie snickered. I stopped my leaping for a few moments, to raise an eyebrow at Emmett, which made Jasper and Rosalie laugh harder.

"Sorry, Bella," Jasper managed to gasp out after he'd mostly composed himself. "We bet on which aspect of you would be enhanced with the transformation, and Emmett bet it would be your clumsiness..."

"And I lost, darn it!" Emmett fumed. "To you and Rose, of all people!" After he'd lessened his anger, he turned to grin at me. "Edward told us it was 'despicable to insult you like this' and blah, blah, blah."

"Stop that!" Esme scolded, coming out of the corner. She strode to where I stood in the center of the room. She stared into my face before she wrapped her arms around me and crushed me into a hug. My new durable body didn't feel like it was going to snap in half, however, so it was a pleasant hug.

"I'm so glad, Bella," she whispered. "You're finally one of my daughters." I felt a rush of emotions at her words and I hugged her back.

"I'm happy you're my mom," I whispered back. If I could've cried then, I would have.

"I do wonder," Edward said when Esme had let me go, "what part of you it was that was enhanced." He brushed a piece of stray hair out of my eyes. My skin tingled at his touch.

I wondered, too. I was very happy that it wasn't my clumsiness, and that I had after all developed the vampire agility and grace.

"Maybe..." he trailed off, looking intently into my eyes. I understood what he was trying to do immediately.  
_  
Crap, it still doesn't work,_ someone said. It sounded remarkably like Edward, though his lips hadn't moved. I remembered that his whole family had an uncanny ability to  
mimic each others' voices. I suppose it came from listening to each other talk for decades.

"Who said that?" I asked, looking around.

"Who said what?" Edward asked in return.

"'Crap, it still doesn't work'?" I quoted. "It sounded a lot like you."

He looked at me oddly, then shook his head. "Are you sure you heard someone say that?"  
The look he was giving me made me slightly nervous.

"Yes, I'm sure," I said. "I promise, I'm not crazy. Really."

He continued to give me the same Maybe-she's-gone-off-the-deep-end look for awhile before speaking again.

"Bella, nobody said anything. I was thinking that just a few moments ago."

Comprehnsion dawned on me. "So," I snorted. "Don't act so surprised, you can do it too! I just got the same ability you did. Big deal."  
An idea suddenly came to light. "I'd love to know what you're thinking, Alice," I said, grinning mischeiviously. She grinned back, spreading her arms as if to say _I'm all yours._ I stared into her eyes. And got...nothing. I frowned, perplexed.  
"It didn't work on you," I said. "Why?"

She shrugged. "Maybe my thoughts are too complex. The thought I was just thinking, however, was the ever-irritating song "It's A Small World."  
I turned to Jasper, hoping it might work on him, but got the same result. Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, Esme...nothing.

"Why will it only work on you?" I asked Edward, turning around to face him.  
He looked deep in thought, a crease appearing in his marble forehead. I tried to penetrate his thoughts, hoping to hear some of his insight. But even _that_ didn't work. Maybe I really was crazy.

"Now it won't even work on you," I groaned, discouraged. "What's the point in being able to read minds if the only mind you can read is your own?"

"Maybe because you can't read minds," Carlisle suggested quietly.  
Everybody turned to stare at him.

"I have a theory," he continued. "Bella was immune to abilities concerning the mind. Perhaps that immunity was enchanced, to where if the person attempts to use their ability on her, she can reflect it back to the person."

"Perhaps..." Edward echoed.  
_I'm glad it doesn't affect you,_ Edward thought. _Your mystery is so much more exciting than being able to read your mind would be._

"I heard that," I said. He smiled that crooked smile I love so much.

"Can we go hunting now?" Emmett complained. "I'm thirsty, and-" Rosalie shot him a look that silenced him quickly.

"Yes, let's," Alice said. "Enough of the chatter!" She sent a smile in my direction.

The mountains whizzed by as Edward raced down the dark, narrow highway.

"There's a mountain lion excess in northern Oregon," he explained as a twisted tree appeared and then was gone within a second. "We're heading down there to fix the problem." His smile was grim.

I glanced at the speedometer to amuse myself. We were going over a hundred and twenty miles an hour. After almost two years of driving with Edward and the rest of the Cullens, the incredibly dangerous speeds they drove at no longer bothered me.

I was excited about the hunting. Minus killing the animals, which I was going to have to get over, it sounded like fun. According to what Edward had been telling me on the half-hour drive that should have taken 2 hours. I was curious to see what the Cullens were like when they acted like...vampires. It was the side of their nature Edward had never let me see, the part that I didn't need to be afraid of anymore. When we reached the rendezvous point, we found the rest of our family waiting.

"Ok, we're all here now, Carlisle," Emmett called. I could dimly see his sillhouette in the last cast by the full moon. Alice bounded over to where I stood and grabbed my hand.

"Ready, Bella?" she whispered, excited.

"I think so," I answered, squeezing her hand.

Edward chuckled behind me and took my other hand.

"You'll do fine," he assured me. "Just stay close." I nodded.

"Is everyone ready?" Carlisle asked, emerging from the shadows of the trees.

"Yes," Emmett answered, impatient. "Can we go?"

"All right. Follow me," Carlisle said. Then he disappeared into the forest.

Somewhere in the wilderness, a wolf howled.


	2. Hunting

_Somewhere in the wilderness, a wolf howled._

I felt a shudder rip through me at the sound. The howl seemed so full of agony...it reminded me of the day the Cullens and the werewolves had fought in the woods, trying to protect me from Victoria and her newborn army. Edward and I had been in the tent , discussing our recent engagement. Jake had heard, and howled like the anonymous wolf just had.

"Jake..." I whispered, closing my eyes as his name sent waves of pain racking my body.

Edward stiffened beside me. I knew he hated any reminders of his natural enemy, of the boy who had competed for me and caused him grief. Despite this, he managed to be anxious when he asked if I was all right.

"Yes," I choked, the lump in my throat constricting my air. He started humming my lullaby and I calmed down after a moment. I opened my eyes again and realized that Alice and the others had gone.

"We need to catch up," I said, walking in the direction Carlisle had taken.

"You'll need to go a bit faster than that," Edward replied. I could hear the smile in his voice.

Even though I had been blessed with unmatched (by human standards, at least) grace, I was apprehensive. Running never had been my forte. I tried anyway, seeing where it would take me.

And then I was flying.

It was exactly like the multiple times Edward had run with me, except my eyes were open and I was the one in control. I felt free and light as a feather as the forest ran by me like paint running on canvas.

"Stop here," someone whispered. Startled, I stopped suddenly and pitched over a boulder, landing hard some twenty feet away. I heard quiet laughter. I rolled over and looked up. Edward stood over me, smiling.

"You achieve grace equal to that of Alice, and you still manage to trip over every obstacle in your path," he murmured. "What am I going to do with you, Bella?"

"You could start by helping me up," I replied sourly. He grinned wider and offered his hand. I took it and stood, glaring as I brushed debris from my clothes.  
After I had straightened myself out I found Alice standing next to me.

"You're just in time," she whispered. "We found a pack." She pointed at something.

With my new enhanced vision I could clearly see at least 12 mountain lions in a gap between the trees. They seemed agitated and tense, prowling around the forest floor, yellow eyes glinting in the low light. A cloud that had been passing over the moon cleared and I suddenly became aware of my surroundings.  
Emmett and Jasper were behind the pack, spaced ten feet apart. They were crouched and ready to spring, lips curled over their gleaming white teeth. Carlisle stood on the left, motionless. Rosalie and Esme were on the right, in the same positions as Jasper and Emmett. Alice, Edward and I made up the front. Alice and Edward took a few steps forward, then Alice motioned me closer. I stepped tentatively and stood beside Edward, who took my hand. That was when the smell hit me.

It was not the rust-and-salt smell I remembered from the multiple times I had injured myself, but a dark, murky, earthy smell. Wilder. It sparked the thirst I had felt earlier, only created the sensation about ten times stronger. Instinct took over and I snarled, surprising myself. In that instant, I became a vampire.

"Now," I heard Carlisle whisper, too soft for the mountain lions to hear but loud enough for us.

Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and Esme sprang. Alice ran in shortly after, growling as she took off.

"The primary attack differs in participants," Edward said softly, explaining the situation. "Tonight I'm here. You're supposed to observe us so you might be helpful next time." He chuckled. I snarled at him and made a move for the mountain lion pack. Edward's expression darkened and he took hold of my waist. I glared at him and snarled again, trying to escape.

"I knew this was going to happen," he muttered, tightening his hold on me. I writhed and caught a glimpse of Carlisle running in to help. A mountain lion yelped as someone bit into its neck, then was quiet.

The luring smell of the blood grew stronger and stronger. I fought against Edward, trying to bite him, just to break free. My mind was almost completely taken over by instinct...

"God, Bella, you look like you're having a seizure or something," Emmett laughed, shaking his head. I stared at him, my stare turning excited when I saw he had a dead mountain lion in his hands.

"Don't worry, we left you the juice. Alice took it upon herself to kill it for you."

Edward released me and I eagerly sprinted for the corpse. Emmett placed it on the ground and walked away to rejoin the fight, still laughing.  
I dug my teeth into its neck, savoring the warm liquid that spread out over my tongue. The woody taste became more pronounced as I drank. I felt the thirst subside.

"Feel better?" Edward asked, squatting next to me. I nodded, even though I was still just a little thirsty. He smiled.  
We continued through the mountains, until Alice foresaw the rangers telling the locals the mountain lion problem had been solved. I ran back to the cars, feeling content.

Once we were back on the road, I turned to Edward.

"I'm sorry I lost control out there," I apologized. "It was the strangest feeling-like I wasn't me anymore, like I was watching while someone who looked just like me squirmed and writhed around."

"I know," he replied. "All newborns are exactly like that in the beginning. I was. We all were." I smiled, comforted by the fact that even Edward, the master of self-control, had lost it once.

We traveled the rest of the way home in silence.


	3. An Unexpected Visit

Edward pulled into the long driveway, easily navigating the twists and hairpin turns. The others nimbly followed. Now and again, I caught sight of a canary yellow Porsche flitting behind us.

"You did comparatively well tonight, Bella," Edward remarked when the huge white house came into view. "Better than most."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "And how would most do?"

He smiled. "Not well, let's just say."

I shuddered slightly when I thought about what "not well" could mean.

He cut the engine and was opening my door all in the same instant. I took the hand he offered and stood. He wrapped his other arm around my waist and led me to the door.

The rest quietly followed. I had just sat on the couch when Emmett boomed, "Bella, you were hilarious. You looked like you were dancing or something, trying to get out to where we were. Poor Edward had to practically tackle you to keep you under control." He shook his head, laughing.

I grimaced, then recovered. "Yeah, that was pretty weird." I suddenly got an idea. "Hey Emmett," I said slyly. "I'm supposed to be incredibly strong, right?"  
He nodded, confused.

"Want to arm wrestle?" I felt Edward shake with silent laughter next to me.

Emmett grinned. "You're on. But be warned, you're going to get your butt kicked." I just smiled and set myself up. Emmett grabbed my hand on the other side of the coffee table. I counted down.

"Three, two, one." Bang.

Emmett stared at his right arm, which was now laying sideways on the glass table.

"Holy crap!" he exclaimed. "Wow, that was a first. I've had some good matches with Rose, but for you to beat me, and at that speed..." He blinked, unable to comprehend being defeated by me.

"Don't be so shocked, Emmett," Alice remarked lithely, dancing through the doorway. "She's a newborn. They're all strong."

"Yeah, but she's Bella!" he replied, standing to join Rosalie in the corner. "No offense," he added, nodding toward me.

"None taken." I smiled. It must have been odd, being matched against someone tiny as me.

Would you come upstairs with me? Edward thought next to me. I need to talk to you.

"Ok," I said, answering his question aloud.

He grabbed my hand and we quietly left as Jasper and Emmett started arm wrestling.

He brought me up to his soundproof room and closed the door.

"Bella," he started. He took a deep breath and continued. "I'm worried about you."

"That's no surprise," I replied. "You're always worried about me."

The corners of his mouth twitched. "I suppose that's true," he admitted, staring off to the side. "This is different." He grabbed my face between his cool fingers and looked into my eyes.

"After what happened...in the clearing," he whispered, brushing his thumb over my cheek. "When the wolf made you think of Jacob..."

I shuddered at the name. I had all but forgotten about him during the hectic months before Edward and my wedding, and now he flooded my mind, making me remember. His bitter face when I had told him that Carlisle would change me right after graduation. The agony I knew he had felt when he learned of my engagement. My hurting him further, by telling him that I loved him but kept him my friend.

"Exactly." Edward's voice pulled me out of reverie. "I had thought it would be difficult for you afterward-but I never expected the mere mention of his name would cause you such pain."

I took a shaky breath to calm myself.

"And here I thought that I wouldn't remember anything about being human," I said, making a pathetic attempt at a joke. He didn't smile.

"You're still young, Bella," he murmured. "And you had quite an experience, being human. Caught between vampires and werewolves-who could forget that?"

"No one, I suppose," I said. "But what can we do now? Like you said, I can't just forget."

"I know." I knew he wished there was some way he could help me do just that.  
"I was considering ideas," he continued, staring down at his thick gold carpet. "The best one I thought, for you, would be to leave somewhere far enough away so you couldn't be easily reminded of Ja-him." He caught himself just in time.

I was willing to accept the course of action. It wouldn't be too hard. Edward had broken the treaty by making me into a vampire, so we needed to leave anyway, before Sam-I was careful not to think his name-and the pack waged a war against us.

"Ok, then," I said after a moment. "Where would we go?"

"London."

I was taken aback-London was so heavily populated. I couldn't be trusted not to lose control. Seeing my expression, Edward quickly explained.

"Actually, a small town just outside of London. Not as populated, but just as overcast. Carlisle wanted to see the modern city of his youth."

"He hasn't been already?"

Edward seemed amused by my question. "Surprising, isn't it? Anyway, would you be willing to go?" He looked at me earnestly, his golden eyes burning.

I sighed after a few minutes of deep thought. "Yes. We need to leave anyway."

An unexpected ear-splitting crash sounded from the living room downstairs. Edward and I jumped up instinctively and hurried down the stairs.

"Where is she?" a familiar voice raved. "Let me see her!"

I flew the rest of the way downstairs, feeling myself turn paler when I saw the shaking outline of the one person I knew would react the most strongly to my transformation.

"What are you doing here?"

He turned slowly at the sound of my voice.

"Bella..." he said softly, his voice trailing off. His angry expression melted into one of sadness, oddly contrasted by his wrinkled nose against the smell.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" I asked again.

"I wanted to see you," he replied, taking a bold step forward. Edward snarled behind me. "To see what would happen," he took a deep breath,"when I saw what you looked like as a bl-a vampire."

He was about to call me a bloodsucker. My hands clenched into fists of anger. I hurled myself at him, blinded by fury, but strong arms caught me and held me back. I saw Jake's convulsions get worse, his form blurring...then he calmed himself.

"I think you need to leave, Jacob," Edward said, his voice near my head. Evidently he was the one restraining me. "Bella is too strong and inexperienced to deal with an enemy."

Jake turned to look at me. His face was contorted into the bitter, agonized mask I so hated.

"I heard you were leaving for London," he spat. "Well, sorry for wanting to see you before you walked out of my life forever. Too bad you can't talk to me, cause you're my enemy and all. Have fun being a bloodsucker." He turned and walked toward the door. My anger quickly faded and I cried out desperately, "Wait!"

He stopped and turned around.

"I'm sorry," I said pathetically. "I know this is horrible for you, and it's just as bad for me. I'm sorry I did this to you, but it's the only way Edward and I can stay together without me getting killed." Edward's arms tensed around me.

"I should have made my move when I had the chance," Jake muttered. "Well, bye, Bells. For good." This time he disappeared over the threshold.

It was all I could do to wait until he was out of earshot to turn into Edward's chest and go to pieces.


	4. Tiny Wolf Charm

I felt myself being pulled over to the couch to sit and try to pull myself back together. Alice came over and quietly held my hand while Edward crushed me to him, whispering words of comfort and encouragement while cursing Jacob Black in his thoughts. After what seemed an eternity, the tearless sobs ceased and I sat motionless, putting the last few pieces of myself together.

All except for one.

Never again would I think about Jacob Black or anyone having to do with him. But without that piece of me, I was incomplete, and the gap would never be filled. I was like a puzzle with a missing section. I was sure, however, that after a century or so, Jacob would be long forgotten.

"Bella?"

I looked over at Alice, who was staring intensely at me.

'Do you feel well enough to start packing?" Apologies were spelled out in her eyes. Obviously it had not been her decision to leave so soon. I nodded once. She smiled and pulled me off the long white couch, leaving Edward sitting there with a blank look on his face.

"OK, so I was thinking that you could just bring a few mementos," Alice said, talking and pulling me along at the same time. "You know, objects that hold sentimental value. You can pack those in here," she handed me a large leather tote bag, "and don't bother with any clothes. We'll buy you new outfits in London. Well, I'll leave you alone to get ready." She placed me into Edward and my now shared room.

What did I have that held any interest for me? Nothing, except... I looked down at my hand. My ring. And my bracelet.

I stared down at the tiny russet wolf, and the shimmering heart. Both given to me by people who loved me, one of them never to be spoken of again. Wrapping my fingertips around the wooden charm, I had to look away. There was some resistance as I gently tugged. I went to the window and shoved it up. Not giving it another thought, I flung the tiny wolf into the deep woods, knowing that nobody would ever see it again.

Jake POV

I was barely able to get through the door without morphing. The way she had run at me, her red eyes burning with rage...it was too much. And it was all the Cullen's fault. They had decided to change her, and break the treaty. Technically I was allowed to go in and kill them all, which was what I desperately wanted to do, but I knew Bella wouldn't take that well. Even though she was a leech, I still cared about her. And loved her. Smell and all.

I prowled around the huge white house in my wolf form, arguing with myself. Do I try to get her attention and apologize for what I said? Or do I go back to La Push and force her out of my head? I supposed, once she left, it would be fairly easy to get over her. Maybe. Out of sight, out of mind- I hoped. As I paced back and forth with a debate team in my head, something small and hard hit me on the nose.

I crouched onto my front legs and squinted at the opposing object, trying to determine what on earth it was. I leaned forward until my snout was almost touching the ground, trying to get a good look at it. My eyes widened when I realized what it was.

It was the wolf I had given Bella for her graduation. Something to remember me by when she became what she was. So why was it out here?

You idiot, my brain told me. Isn't it obvious? This is your own stupid fault. You messed up big time, again. You hurt Bella so much that she throws your token of love out the window. And in a hundred years, she won't even remember your last name.

That tiny charm made up my mind quickly. Bella was gone forever- and so was I.

End Jake POV

"OK, Alice, I'm ready," I called. The only thing I had decided to take with me was my high school diploma. Not my wedding dress-anything having to do with my engagement brought back frightening and painful memories. I kept the ring, though. Edward loved to see me wear it, knowing that I was his and would be forever. He already knew that, of course, no wedding was needed to know that. But he had "wanted to make it official," so I wore his ring. I was starting to like it. It was old-fashioned.

"What did you pack?" she asked, coming into the room.

"My diploma."

"Is that all?" She looked confused.

"Yeah." I really didn't want to explain it.

"OK," she said. "Hey everyone, she's ready!"

I heard Emmett and a few others downstairs, grumbling about how slow I was. They had no idea how much thought had gone into what I'd packed. I descended to the lower floor, walking straight into Edward as I stepped off the lowest stair.

I'm so sorry, Bella, he thought. This is all my fault. I heard his thoughts, I knew he was coming...I should have told Emmett and Jasper to send him away.

It's OK, I thought back, knowing he couldn't hear me. I guess I deserve it. Anyway, give it 200 years or so and I'll forget all about him.

Edward stared at me, his eyes wide.

Now you can put your thoughts into my head, he thought. I'm going to have a headache at the end of the day. I smiled widely.

"I have a quick question," I said, making our conversation verbal. "Why are we leaving at-" I checked the clock. "-1: 30 in the morning?"

"The Cullens are supposed to be gone, Bella," he replied. "Don't you think it would be odd if we drove through the middle of the town at noon when Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Alice are supposed to be at Dartmouth, we're supposed to be in Jamaica, and Carlisle and Esme are supposed to be at a conference in Boston?"

"I guess." He smiled and took my hand.

Alice sat on the sheet-covered piano bench and sighed. "It's been a good home to us, hasn't it?" she said sadly. The others nodded slowly.

We piled our things into the cars-Carlisle's amount being the largest, as his medical files took up a lot of room-and drove off for the second time that night.

We drove through the center of town, where I saw the police station and my high school. I felt a pang as I saw the sign that said "Chief of Police: Charlie Swan" outside the station. Edward quickly passed to the highway that led us out of Washington. I knew Port Angeles Airport closed at around 11:30, so I didn't need an explanation. Instead, I settled back in my seat to watch the trees, flying by me in a blur. For a moment I thought I'd caught the dark shape of a russet wolf sprinting  
through the woods, but I blinked and it disappeared.


	5. Memories

I was still perfectly alert as Edward took the exit onto the highway that would take us to Seattle. When we had passed Port Angeles about 5 minutes ago (he was still driving one-sixty) I had felt more sadness and some lingering fear as I remembered what had happened there. The men who had possibly been about to kill me. My and Edward's first "date". Hearing Edward's voice in my head for the first time after he left...the ghostly hole in my chest threatened to make itself better known again.

"What are we going to do in London?" I asked, breaking the long silence that had stayed even after we'd left Forks.

"Well," he replied, staring at the road ahead, "Carlisle is obviously going to try and get a job in one of their hospitals. Esme will be a housewife," I smiled at that, "and you, me, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice and Jasper will enroll in college. Actually, not you. You'll be a housewife like Esme." He laughed quietly.

His description of my "occupation" brought back more memories. I closed my eyes and rested and the side of the passenger door, allowing myself to remember my wedding day.

FLASHBACK

"Alice!" I complained. "I'm sore from sitting down for, what, 3 hours now?"

"It's only been 2 hours and 45 minutes," she retorted, going at my hair again with a flatiron and curling iron. "I'm willing to make it 3, however, if you keep up the attitude."

I huffed in frustration but closed my mouth.

"Emmett, Rose, how's it going out there?" Alice called, still focused on my hair and face. She had assigned them to guard the door to make sure Edward didn't pop in spontaneously. Bad luck for the marriage, she had explained, if the groom sees the bride before the ceremony.

"So far, all clear," Emmett replied. "But you know him, he'll show up soon."

She laughed and picked up a can of hairspray.

"Close your eyes," she ordered, pulling the cap off with a pop. I did as she asked and she coated my head with the chemical-smelling spray. I knew that Edward was in the house because I could hear Carlisle trying to keep him outside. Alice straightened suddenly, put down the can of hairspray and beamed.

"Now you're done," she laughed, holding out a hand to help my up. I was so stiff I wasn't sure if I could get up at all. Her expression turned darkly amused as I heard Emmett say "No can do, brother."

"I have a right to see her," Edward said outside.

"No, you don't," Alice replied. She opened a closet and hurried me in. "Hide here," she whispered. "I don't think Emmett and Rose can keep him out much longer." She closed the door with a giggle.

"See?" she told Edward as the bathroom door was flung open. "Not here."

"Where is she, then?" Edward asked. I could picture him standing there with his arms folded over his chest.

"Umm...getting her dress on."

"Where?"

"A place. Get out, Edward!"

His tone grew frustrated. "I know she's in here. Bella? Where's she hiding you?"

I didn't answer. Alice would kill me.

He sighed after a moment, then said, "Fine. I'll be back, though." Then he left.

Alice opened the door again and smiled.

"Come on, let's go put your dress on before he does come back," she said, taking my hand and pulling me out.

She helped me into my dress, worried I would mess up my hair or makeup or something equally crucial to my appearance.

"OK, go look in the mirror," she said when every last button had been done. "I can't wait to see your face when you see what you look like."

I walked slowly to the other side of the room, being careful not to trip on the long train of my dress. I squinted at the other side of the room. There was a girl in a white dress standing there, looking confused. I went closer and closer, until my nose bumped against the glass.

Oh. That girl was me.

It's a strange experience, seeing a stranger and finding out that person's actually you. I stepped back a few steps to stare at myself. Alice came over to stand next to me, grinning. Her form in the mirror confirmed my idea. It really was me.

My Anne of Green Gables dress looked just like it had jumped out of Edward's time period. My hair was perfectly curled, not a frizy hair in sight. My makeup was also perfect, thanks to Alice. Suddenly remembering her, I bent slightly and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you so much," I whispered.

"Don't cry," she laughed, hugging me back. "Save that for the vows."

The vows. I had a wedding I was supposed to be at.

"Alice, what time do I need to be out there?" She checked her watch. A panicked look came over her as she processed what time it was.

"Right now!" she exclaimed, grabbing my arm. "Come on, let's go!" She yanked me down the stairs. Somehow she managed to grab her purple clutch off the hall table as we flew past it. Once we had sprinted out the back door, she spotted something and shoved me toward it. I saw a figure and recognized it as Charlie.

"Stay here," Alice instructed. "I have to go down now. Bye! Good luck, love you!" She pecked my cheek before she sped off.

I approached Charlie, who had turned to face me upon hearing Alice's voice. He promptly gathered me into his arms.

"Bella," he breathed, emotion loaded on his words. "You look so beautiful. I had always imagined walking my baby down the aisle, but never this soon!" I heard him sniff.

"Aww, Dad," I groaned playfully. "Save the tears for later."

He smiled. "It's not my fault. I'm not trying to be emotional."

"Here Comes The Bride" started playing then. Edward had recorded himself playing the song on his piano. I took a deep breath as my dad threaded his arm through mine.

Charlie guided me down, leaving me free to look at all the other things. Alice had not gone overboard on decorations, thank God. She was standing near the altar with a huge smile on her face. Angela was next to her, grinning. Tears sparkled in her eyes. My mom was crying in the first row. And then my eyes rested on him.

He was achingly handsome in his tuxedo. His golden eyes were wide as they followed me down the aisle. Charlie released me when we reached the altar and Edward took his place, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"To say that right now you are the most breathtakingly beautiful woman ever created in the whole of the universe would be a gross understatement," he whispered, his lips at my ear. I blushed.

The minister started the vows then and Edward and I turned to face him. Edward had written them himself, and they sounded almost like poetry as the minister spoke them aloud. Of course, Edward's voice whispering them in my ear made them about ten times better.

"And do you, Isabella Marie Swan, take Edward Anthony Cullen to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, des-"  
"I do." I didn't let him finish because Edward (and everybody else present) knew that I would want Edward even if he was living in a cardboard box and had chronic pnemonia.

The minister seemed taken aback. "Ah, well, then...you may kiss the bride."

Edward laced his arms around my back and dipped me in a sort of tango. He pressed his lips to mine and held them there slightly longer than necessary before pulling me back up. He proceeded to carry me bridal-style up the aisle to his waiting "special occasion" car. Then we drove up to the baseball clearing where the reception was to be held.

We had both immediately agreed to dance to my lullaby first. It was kind of cliche and obvious, but it was the only thing that seemed right. Edward held me a few inches above the floor as we danced. In my long dress I don't think anyone noticed.

After we left the floor our other guests took over. When 3 or 4 songs had passed I watched Edward become restless. Finally he stood and walked over to the deejay. He whispered something in her ear. She nodded and pulled a CD out from under her station somewhere.

He walked onstage and stood in front of the microphone. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"I would like to sing a song for Bella." He glanced in my direction. I felt my heart flutter. Everyone else in the room turned to stare at me. "It's called 'When You Say You Love Me' by Josh Groban," he continued. The music began playing.

LYRICS

Like the sound of silence calling

I hear your voice and suddenly

I'm falling

Lost in a dream

Like the echoes of our souls are meeting

You say those words my heart stops beating

I wonder what it means

What could it be

That comes over me

At times I can't move

At times I can hardly breathe

When you say you love me

The world goes still so still inside and

When you say you love me

For a moment there's no one else

Alive...

You're the one I've always thought of

I don't know how but I feel sheltered in your love

You're where I belong

And when you're with me if I close my eyes

There are times I swear I feel like I can fly

For a moment in time

Somewhere between the Heavens and Earth

Frozen in time

Oh, when you say those words...

When you say you love me

The world goes still so still inside and

When you say you love me

For a moment there's no one else alive

And this journey that we're on

How far we've come and I

Celebrate every moment

And when you say you love me

That's all you have to say

I'll always feel this way

When you say you love me

The world goes still so still inside and

When you say you love me

In that moment I know why I'm alive

When you say you love me

When you say you love me

Do you know how I love...

You

END LYRICS

Hot tears started cascading down my cheeks as the onlookers burst into cheers. Edward hopped down off the stage and strode over to where I stood motionless.

"Did you like it?" he asked, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

I snaked my arms around his waist and replied "That was beautiful. I never knew you could sing like that."

He chuckled. "Actually, neither did I. I thought the only musical gift I had was playing the piano."

The tears that continued to roll down my face were staining his tux, but he didn't seem to mind.

END FLASHBACK

"Bella?" A pale hand waved in front of my face. I started and sat up anxiously.

"Is something wrong? What's going on?" I noted that the car wasn't moving anymore.

"No, silly. We're in the parking garage at the airport." He paused. "If I didn't know any better, I would've thought you were sleeping."

"I was remembering our wedding day," I said, opening my door and getting out.

He smiled. "Ah. A hard day to forget, if I do say so myself."

"I was remembering that song you sang me," I whispered. The beautiful song once again floated through my head. "You sang it about 10 times better than Josh Groban ever dreamed he could." Edward grinned and grabbed my hand.

"God, Bella, did you fall into a coma?" Alice asked as we walked up to the rest of the family. They were all waiting at the door of the terminal.

"No. What are we going to do about the cars?" I replied.

"There are more than 4 cars in the world, if you recall."

I stared, dumbfounded. I couldn't believe she was going to leave her Porsche. It was her most prized possesion. She seemed to notice my expression and laughed, a high soprano tinkling.

"I was kidding. We're loading them onto our private jet."

"What about Edward's Aston-Martin? And Emmett's Jeep?" I asked. They loved those cars.

"Like I said, there are more cars in existence, Bella."

We walked into the terminal towards a big, sleepy-looking woman behind a desk labeled "Private Charters."

"Hello. Cullen, please," Edward said once we were standing in front of the desk.

"I'm sorry," she said in a monotonous tone, "there are no available pilots at this time."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," he replied, flashing her a dazzling smile. "My father and I are both highly skilled pilots."

"W-which one of you will be flying the craft?" she stammered, melted by Edward's scorching eyes.

"Me," Carlisle volunteered. He stepped forward to take care of the paperwork.

"Boy, that figures," I muttered.

"What?" Edward asked, rejoining me.

"That both you and Carlisle can fly planes. Can Emmett and Jasper?"

"Actually, yes." My expression must have been pitiful because he added, "Just not well. I and Carlisle are the only ones who have ever managed to stay in the air for more than 24 hours."

"Let's go," Carlisle said, walking away from the desk. "We've got London to see."

We all trailed behind him. I rested my head on Edward's shoulder as we made our way through the airport. When he got to the private hangars, I wrinkled my nose.

The air was heavy with the stench of gasoline and burning metal. I walked as quickly as I could to the small airplane that said "CULLEN" on the side. Carlisle, Edward, Jasper and Emmett stayed outside to check the fuel and oil levels while Alice, Rosalie and Esme joined me inside. I settled into an overstuffed chair and listened to Alice talk on and on about England.

"I've always wanted to see the English countryside!" she gushed. "And downtown...oh, I can picture the inside of Harvey Nichols now..." She sighed dreamily.  
There was a loud thwap of metal closing on metal from outside. Emmett burst in and announced "Everything's good to go. Let's fly!"

Jasper, Edward and Carlisle climbed in. Carlisle made his way to the cockpit and Esme stood to follow. I closed my eyes as Edward took the seat next to me.

"How are you feeling?" he whispered.

"Sad. And a little regretful."

"Why?"

"I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Mike Newton. He wasn't at the wedding."

Edward chuckled and took my hand. I placed my head back on his shoulder as the engines started and we took off.

I would have cried then, had I been able to. Goodbye, Forks, I thought. Goodbye, everyone. Goodbye, my previous life.

I must have looked on the verge of tears, though, because Edward started humming my lullaby for the second time that night.


	6. A Terrifying Premonition

It's incredibly annoying to be on a 13 hour flight without being able to sleep.

Alice babbled on and on about London and the countryside and the people and the department stores and-

"Alice, please stop," I interrupted her. "I know you're excited about going to England and I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but hearing 4 hours of you talking about it gets on my nerves!"

Edward, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett spared me grateful looks. Evidently, they too had grown tired of listening to Alice talk.

She settled back in her seat and pouted. "None of you are talking," she whined, crossing her arms across her chest. "I took it upon myself as a duty to keep the conversation going."

"What conversation?" Edward scoffed. "A conversation requires two or more people. Granted, your incessant chatter could count for two people, but that's beside the point." The rest of us (excluding Alice) laughed aloud. She merely sat and fumed.

Can we talk?

I nodded at him. I stood, stretched, and walked to one of the large windows, claiming I needed a change of scenery. I watched wispy clouds drift by in the great expanse of blue. Far below us, I could see moving sparkles. It reminded me of Edward in the meadow.

Enjoying the view?

I turned around. He was walking over to where I was, smiling. I turned back to watch the clouds again.

This thought-conversation is pretty convenient, I thought.

It certainly is, he replied, putting an arm around my waist. Shut up, Emmett.

I looked up at him, confused. What about Emmett? I asked.

Oh, he was thinking irritating things about our relationship. It's nothing, he assured me.

Like what? I was curious.

Um...the, um... He bit his lip, clearly embarrassed.

The sleeping with me part?

He nodded, staring out the window.

I still haven't made that happen, he said. I put both my arms around his waist and sighed into his chest.

It's OK, I said, brushing off any of his concerns. We have eternity. There's no rush. I felt a twinge of guilt at my little lie. Of course I wanted it to happen, soon. The sooner the better. But Edward, I knew, was still hesitant about it.

My views haven't changed, he said earnestly, tightening his grip around my waist.

Which view, the one you had the night I tried to seduce you or the other one? I asked, amused.

The other one.

His answer surprised me. Trying to get my thoughts back on track I changed the subject.

What did you want to talk about before Emmett interrupted you?

He smiled. Oh, that. I-

"Alice!" Rosalie exclaimed.

Edward and I whipped around to face the others.

Jasper was kneeling at Alice's side, shaking her violently. There was a panicked, frantic look about him. I broke free of Edward's hold and rushed over to the tiny vampire. She was slumped back, her head tilting over the back of the chair. Her eyes were closed.

"I can't feel anything from her," Jasper cried. "No happiness, sadness, fear, nothing! It's like she disappeared!"

I turned on my heel to Edward. He was standing with a shocked expression on his face.

"Can you read anything from her mind?" I asked, sharing Jasper's panic. Emmett joined Jasper on the floor next to Alice. Rosalie sat frozen, apparently unable to do anything.

Edward's face took on a look of concentration. He stood over Alice and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he started. He jumped back from her, eyes wide. His face was paler than normal.

"Oh my God," he whispered.

"What?" Jasper shouted. "What did you hear?" Edward merely shook his head, seemingly unable to speak.

"Edward! What's wrong?" I cried. That didn't rouse him either. Then I got an idea. I strode firmly over to where he was. "I'm sorry," I whispered. Then I slapped him across the face. Hard.

I heard his sharp intake of breath. I stepped back and looked up at him. His golden eyes were slightly murky. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.

"Carlisle," he said, the fear evident in his voice. "We need to get Carlisle." He walked quickly to the cockpit, flung the door open and closed it behind him. In a matter of milliseconds, Esme and Carlisle were out the door in the cabin.

Carlisle spotted the still form of Alice and rushed over. Emmett stepped back as Carlisle grabbed the top of Alice's head and pulled it so her head was upright.

"Alice!" he shouted. "Can you hear me?" He waited a moment before shouting again. She was still unresponsive. I glanced at Esme. Her bottom lip was trembling. I walked over to her and grabbed her hand. She squeezed it and clung to my arm.

Jasper made a sort of strangled cry and lunged forward. Carlisle barely had time to dive out of the way before Jasper grasped Alice's tiny shoulders and shook her again.

"Alice!" he screamed. "Listen to me! Please, please, Alice, listen to me!" His voice grew more frantic and steadily became louder. Esme buried her face in my shoulder, unable to watch the horrible scene before her. I couldn't look away-it was like an invisible force held me captive, forcing me to watch the tragedy unfold.

"NO! Alice, Alice, please, oh no, NO!" Jasper continued to scream. He held Alice's face in his hands. I could only imagine how awful this was for him. Edward could relate well. It was like me the time James nearly killed me.

Jasper was sobbing tearless sobs by now, still shaking the living daylights out of Alice. Emmett went over and solemnly laid a hand on jasper's shoulder. Finally, Jasper left go of Alice and collapsed on his knees, resting his elbows on his thighs and placing the heels of his hands over his eyes.

This wasn't happening. Vampires didn't simply die. They had to be ripped apart and burned first. My breathing became uneven.

Edward burst from the cockpit then, sprinting to the limp figure of Alice. He pulled up on of her still eyelids and looked underneath.

Alice jumped as though she'd been electrocuted. She leapt from her chair and stood, her head swiveling back and forth, looking for something. Her eyes rested on me.  
I gasped and jumped back. Esme ran to Carlisle and clutched his hand, her eyes wide and trained on me.

Alice's irises were the color of blood.

She grinned at me, exposing her glistening white fangs.

"Bella," she rasped in a voice completely unlike her own. I stared at her, my eyes wide in fear.

"Bella," she repeated, taking a step toward me, "we have been waiting so long!" Her tongue flicked out over her white lips. Then she tackled me. Her teeth snapped just a hair's breadth away from my neck. I didn't want to fight her, afraid I would hurt her.

"Jasper! Emmett! Grab her!" Carlisle shouted. Within moments her weight disappeared from on top of me.

"Bella!" Edward cried frantically. I sat up and leaned against a long gold couch. "Are you okay?" His golden eyes, clearer now, were transfixed to my own.

"I'm fine," I panted. An alarming thought suddenly surfaced and icy fear pooled in my stomach.

"Who's flying the plane?" I whispered.

Fear overtook his perfect features. His expression told me everything.

"That's what I was afraid of."

I felt the plane tilt downward.


	7. Crash and Sink

**Thanks to everyone who had been reviewing/alerting/favoriting this! It means a lot to me :)**

**Disclaimer (Had to!): I do not own the Twilight series or any of its characters. They belong to the wonderfully gifted and talented Stephenie Meyer. Big thanks to her for inventing everyone, especially Edward! We all love her for him!**

**Why are you still reading this? Read the chapter!**

Nobody else seemed to notice our new predicament. They were all still wrapped up in Alice's deadly premonition.

Jasper looked bewildered. It must be a strange thing, to think your soulmate's just died and now they're attacking a member of your family. Still, his grip on Alice was strong.

She was heaving breaths, her small chest rapidly rising and falling. Her ruby-red eyes glinted with a thirst for my demise. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine as I looked into her wild eyes. Here was one of my best friends in the world, and she wanted to destroy me.

Carlisle stood in front of her. When I looked away she returned her focus to him, staring at his calm face.

"Alice?"

"I am not Alice." She continued breathing heavily.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows slightly and frowned. "Then would you care to tell us who you are?"

Alice's-no, not Alice, some other godforsaken creature that had taken over her body-eyes narrowed.

"You do not recognize me, Carlisle?" The voice sounded wounded, and eerily familiar.

"Caius?" Carlisle' tone was pleasantly surprised. I blinked, trying to comprehend what was happening.

Caius' voice calmed down substantially. "Ah. You do. Very well, I suppose you will want to know what I am doing, speaking through this tiny female?"

"If you will."

"We have come for the girl." Alice/Caius' eyes darted to meet mine. My mouth suddenly went dry. Here I was again, at the mercy of the Volturi. I heard Edward snarl quietly as he stepped forward.

"She has been turned. Do you not recognize one of your own?" The undertones of anger in his words were evident. I looked fearfully between him and Caius, knowing there was nothing to be afraid of but wary all the same.

The plane lurched under our feet. I glanced at the floor briefly, then looked up to meet Edward's tawny gaze.

"Look into her eyes," Edward pressed. "They were brown before."

Alice/Caius squinted at me. "She bears the thirst. As well as the ruby of the irises." Caius turned back to Carlisle. "We were coming to be certain. I apologize for my overreaction."

"No worry. Thank you for visiting," Carlisle said pleasantly.

Alice/Caius nodded. Then Alice spasmed, and fell to the floor.

Emmett broke his grip on her as Jasper dropped to her side, anxiety radiating from his golden eyes. Her eyelids fluttered, then flew apart. To my and everyone else's great relief, her eyes were the topaz they were supposed to be.

"What happened?" Jasper's voice was rough.

"I-I don't know," she answered, rising shakily to her feet. "All of a sudden, I got a vision, and at the end I was gone. I watched as Caius replaced my body, then I blacked out."

"What was your vision?" Carlisle asked, a hint of urgency on his words.

"There was a fight. Between the-"

She never finished her sentence. The plane had lurched again and everyone was thrown to the floor like rag dolls.

"What's going on?" Jasper asked, alarmed.

"Edward forgot he was flying the plane," I answered hoarsely. Jasper's eyes went wide.

I ran to the window where I had stood only minutes before, pressing my nose to the thick plastic. The glinting, choppy waves I had seen were swirling up to meet us.

"We're about to be very wet," I choked.

A horrified silence followed my statement. We all stared at each other, trying to draw inspiration for a plan from the wild fear we saw in each others' eyes.

A squawking radio interrupted our panic.

"324! 324! What is your status? I repeat, what is your status? Over!"

Carlisle strode to the cockpit, grabbed the little black communicator, and pressed the button.

"This is 324. We are going down. Over."

That was all he had time to say before the plane slammed into the water's surface, cold black water rushed in through the broken windows, and we all were flung into the open ocean.

I had squeezed my eyes shut when the water came pouring in, so when I opened them again, I was engulfed in frigid, dark water.

Blinking, I turned my head to my right. I could see our plane sinking into the depths of the oceans. Something pale flashed in my peripheral vision and I twisted in the water, meeting Alice's stare.

She smiled at me and motioned upward. I nodded. Air. Despite the fact that breathing wasn't necessary it was very uncomfortable to be without the feeling of oxygen flowing in and out of my lungs.

Not bothering to look for the others, I started upward toward the murky light. When I was close to the surface I doubled my efforts, sucking in air when my head broke through the choppy waves. I heard Alice coughing and sputtering beside me. As soon as the feeling of airlessness passed, I dove under.

Had everyone else made it to the surface? Is it possible for vampires to drown? I pondered these as I searched for the rest of my family. I glanced around and saw something white suspended in the water below me. I swam toward it, looking for distinguishing features. Long blond hair billowed around her face and seemed to shimmer. She watched as I strained to her.

I pointed upward, mouthing "Alice is up there." Bubbles came pouring out of my mouth and upward. Rosalie understood, though, and began to push herself upward. I turned toward where the plane had sunk and saw Emmett and Jasper swimming up. Carlisle and Esme were farther away, but closer to the surface. Carlisle seemed to find me out of the corner of his eye and looked at me. I pointed frantically to where I was and he nodded. He grabbed Esme's hand and started pulling her over to where I was. As soon as they were close to the area where Alice was, I nodded, satisfied, and looked back over the ocean.

Why was I taking charge like this? Usually it was Carlisle or Edward that took care of situations like this. My eyes widened.

Edward. I still hadn't seen him.

I swam as fast as I could to where Alice and the others were. When my mouth was clear of water, I started screaming.

"Edward!"

"He's not here yet, Bella," came Alice's response.

My stomach sunk to join the plane.

"I'm going to go look for him," I said, diving back underneath the waves. Someone tried to grab me, but missed. I began swimming toward the rapidly sinking plane. I was still vampire fast, even in water, and I got to the plane quickly enough. The door had been ripped off the hinges, so I was able to float in without much difficulty.

Bella? Is that you? Edward's lovely but alarmingly weak voice filled my head.

Yes, I answered, relieved. Where are you?

Trapped beneath this damn couch. The water pressure is making it difficult to remove.

I swam around the cabin for a minute before I located him. He smiled, but something about his eyes told me something wasn't right.

I'll pull, you push, I instructed through my thoughts.

He did what I asked, and we were able to pull it away, not without effort.

What I saw beneath the couch made me gasp, the issue of being underwater forgotten.


	8. An Extinguished Sun

Edward looked at me, alarm in his eyes.

Bella? Are you all right? His thoughts were frantic.

I couldn't answer-a suffocating feeling had enveloped my brain, making it impossible to think. I shook my head to indicate something was wrong. My head felt light. Edward grabbed me by the waist and pushed off the floor of the plane.

As we began drifting up my mind suddenly cleared. The light feeling gone, I turned away from Edward and made my way back to the plane.

He shook his head. No, Bella! he thought sternly. He had not seen, however, what was under the couch.

We can't just leave him there! I screamed in my head. I'm going back!

I broke free of his strong hold and fought through the water back to the plane. I located his still body quickly and grabbed his arm, pulling him up so he could float alongside me. When I reached the door I found Edward waiting for me. He motioned for me to give him the unconscious boy but I refused.

I can do this, I thought shortly.

No, you can't, Edward replied, taking the body from me. You've just inhaled a lungful of salt water. I don't think you have oxygen enough to carry him that far. Was he under the couch the whole time? I nodded.

Please hurry. I don't like the color of him.

Edward obeyed, pushing through the water as quickly as one could when having not breathed in a while. I followed, trying to keep pace but rapidly falling behind. Every few minutes Edward would have to stop and wait for me to catch up. I waved him on impatiently, growing more and more panicked over the still form he managed to hold in his arms, not caring at all for my life.

The dreadful feeling of airlessness affected me slowly as we made our way to the surface. Several times I thought I would pass out, which is not the easiest thing for someone of my kind. Finally I stopped altogether, watching as Edward swam further and further away.

Take him up, I thought. He needs to breathe.

After a few long moments of floating, I closed my eyes. The salt water was burning them. I wanted to sleep desperately but I knew that was impossible. I felt a large movement in the water in front of me and opened my eyes to find Alice staring at me.

Edward came up a few moments ago and said you were still here. He sounded panicked, like you weren't doing so well, so I swam down a few fathoms and found you.  
Are you OK? Her tiny mouth moved quickly, but I understood what she was saying.

Not really. I inhaled a lot of salt water in the plane, I mouthed back.

Edward said that, she nodded. Come on, Carlisle's worried about you and-She stopped suddenly.

What? I asked.

Nothing, she said, pulling my arm over her small shoulders to help me back up to the surface. Come on, Carlisle wants to see what kind of shape you're in.  
I let her pull me back up to the surface of the water. My muscles had no strength left to swim. When I felt the cool (now night) air hit my face, I started coughing. Salt water came bubbling out of my lungs into my mouth, where it was promptly spit out. It took a few moments before I could breathe without having to cough up the air I'd just taken in, laced with water.

"Is he all right?" I gasped as soon as I was able to talk.

"Not exactly what you'd call 'all right'," Alice admitted, taking my hand. She pointed to where Carlisle and Edward were speaking in hushed tones, examining the still form in front of them. I dog-paddled to where they floated. Edward grabbed my hand and whispered, "Bella, he might not survive this."

My eyes widened in shock. I glanced up into his topaz eyes and felt my own fill with water that shouldn't have been there.

"Am I crying?" I asked, surprised. Edward nodded.

"When you inhaled that water, some of it retained in areas where it is supposed to be retained, such as your tear ducts," he explained. "Your emotion over him," he gestured to the body, "must have caused the ducts to release water."

I nodded. The unnatural tears came faster. I took the unconscious boy's hand. It was cold. Too cold. Panic seized my nonexistent heart and my pale fingers scurried further down to his wrist, where they squeezed in a death grip.

There was no throbbing.

"No," I whispered, icy despair settling in my chest.

"NO!" I screamed, louder. My hands flew to his face.

"JACOB!" I screamed, my body racked with sobs. "LISTEN TO ME!"

His peaceful, unmoving face offered no remorse.

"NOOOOOOO!" I screamed again. I tilted my head back to stare into the boiling gray sky. Drops landed on my face, but I didn't care.

"WHY?" I asked of the sky, the sea, the core of existence. "Why would you do this to him? Why would you do this to me?"

I barely felt Edward's comforting grip around my shoulders.

"JACOB!" I sobbed. "Don't do this to me! JACOB!"

His hand fell from mine.

I gazed once into his face. It looked like he was sleeping.

Then I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed one long, high, agonized scream.

The salt water would not stop pouring after that.

Edward held me bridal-style in the water as I cried my still, cold heart out. Alice came over to hold the hand that wasn't clutching Jacob's lifeless one. He was freezing, and that brought me back to reality every time I had convinced myself he wasn't...dead. He's just sleeping, I would delude myself. Or I'm sleeping, and this is all just a horrible nightmare. And when I wake up, Edward will be lying next to me, anxious, until I convince him it was just a nightmare.

Just a real-life nightmare.

When the tears stopped coming Edward would not let me go. Anybody who was not Alice he snarled softly at if they came too close to me. But when the hysteria replaced the sobbing, he allowed Jasper to calm me down.

Pale light was breaking over the horizon when I finally snapped out of my shocked depression. I glanced up at Edward, who smiled wearily at me. I sighed and leaned into his chest, staring blankly into Jacob's closed eyes. His skin was white beneath the brown. The dark hair he had always kept long until he needed to cut it was stiff where it broke the surface, the cool air drying it. The salt left streaks in it.

So this was how it ended. My own personal sun, extinguished forever. All because of me. All because of the pain I had caused him.

His other hand was clenched tight around something. I lifted it gently from the water and pried his fingers open. The cold ocean had chilled them so they were almost impossible to pull away from his palm. When I could at last see the object, time suddenly stopped.

It was the wooden wolf I had torn from my bracelet. He had found it. He had known what it stood for and why I had removed it. It no longer held the meaning of everlasting love between him and me-now it meant only agony and death.

"I'm so sorry, Jacob," I whispered. The hole in my chest ripped open then.

I gasped as the pain overtook me and whimpered as it held its course. Edward's arms tightened around my cold, hard body. He didn't know why I was in pain now.

"That wolf," I cried, scooping it into my palm to show Edward. "I took it off and threw it out the window so I wouldn't remember him...and he must have found it."

Edward nodded, his expression stony. "And he brought it back to you," he muttered. His eyes fixed on my best friend's body. "Why, Jacob?" he whispered. "Look what you've done to her." His golden eyes squeezed shut. In the instant before his pale lids shut them out I glimpsed what looked like grief in their depths.

Carlisle swam over to Edward and whispered something to him. His voice was too low-I couldn't understand what he was saying. Edward nodded once, his eyes still closed.

"He said the Channel is a short distance away," he said to me, bending low so I could hear him. "Do you think you could swim to England?"

I smiled slightly before I realized what I was doing. "Sure." My short-lived smile turned quickly into a frown.

Can we bring Jacob? I asked through my thoughts. I can't leave him here. He deserves to be remembered.

Yes, he answered. Come quickly. We've already spent enough time in the middle of the ocean.

I nodded, but protested when he tried to carry me there.

"You couldn't make it all the way to the Channel carrying me," I argued. He complied and set me into the water, where I rapidly began sinking. There wasn't enough strength in my limbs to swim. So I let Edward take me while I towed Jacob, still holding tight to his hand as though he would squeeze back.

When I felt the solid comfort of land beneath my numb feet, I stood and tried to determine my surroundings. The landscape was flat, rocky where the sea met the land, grassy and blooming with flowers elsewhere.

"Where are we?" My voice was little more than a hoarse whisper.

"Cornwall, I'd expect," Carlisle replied, dusting sand off his ruined, wet clothing.

"Where's that?" Alice inquired.

"In the southwest of England. Substantially farther away from London than I'd wanted."

She groaned and turned to help Jasper get bits of seashell out of his blond hair. Feeling at my own wet strands, I walked to where someone had propped Jacob against a large boulder. Edward, I presumed.

He looked as though he had fallen asleep sitting up. As though at any moment his eyes would fly open and he would ask me if I was convinced by his little joke. Reality set in once again and I realized Jake would never wake up. I would never see the mischievous twinkle in his eyes he got every time we snuck out to his garage to work on our motorcycles.

I heard the sound of fabric ripping and turned to find Edward standing on a sandy patch some distance away, looking down at a hole he had created when he'd tried to wring the water out of it.

"Damn it," he groaned, holding it up to get a better look at it. He noticed me watching and smiled half-heartedly. The corners of my mouth tugged up slightly. He sat on the sand and motioned me over. I went to sit next to him on the warm sand, leaned my aching head against his granite shoulder, and sighed. Together we watched the tide flow in and out as Edward held my hand.

"Bella?" Alice's voice was nearby. I lifted my head to find her squatting next to me, her eyes sad.

"Yes, Alice?" I relieved Edward's shoulder and leaned on her instead.

"We're going to have to find a place to bury him," she blurted, nodding furiously toward Jake. "And soon. Carlisle said it won't be long until he starts to decompose." She wrinkled her nose as though already smelling it.

"OK," I said slowly, standing. Edward followed me up, putting his stiff torn shirt back on.

"I'll help," he volunteered. We ambled up the grassy slope that backed us.

Eventually I found the perfect spot-it had soft grass, beautiful wildflowers, and no view of the ocean. Edward and I called the others over and started digging. Within a few short minutes we had dug a deep, long hole (I refused to even think the word grave) and I gently laid Jacob down in it, taking deep breaths to calm myself and to breathe his scent for one last time. I then pulled the tiny wolf out of his hand and reattached it to my bracelet without Edward noticing. In the same instant I swept loose soil over my best friend. When we had sufficiently covered the hole I choked out a goodbye.

"Bye, Jake," I said, trying to be upbeat. I pretended he was going back to La Push after we had completed our homework together. When it hit me this was not the case, my knees buckled and I fell on the ground in front of him.

"I'm so sorry, Jake," I sobbed. "This is my fault. I've caused you so much pain and it's brought you to this. It's not fair. You were only 16. IT'S NOT FAIR!" I screamed on the last sentence.

Before I knew it Edward was beside me, holding me, rocking me back and forth to comfort me. I could not be solaced.

"It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not FAIR," I moaned quietly. "Why couldn't it have been me? I deserved it. Why?"

My family waited patiently as my second outbreak died off. When I finally stood, I broke free of Edward's grip and ran. Flying at the speed of a vampire, I was several miles away from them when I ran straight into a girl.

We both tumbled to the ground and rolled a few times. When I was sure we were not moving anymore, I heard an angry rant from beneath me.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" she raved. I pushed myself off of her. She glared at me with jade green eyes as she spewed out other profanity. She stood and brushed debris off herself before smiling apologetically at me.

"I'm sorry I got carried away," she said, pulling long strands of dark brown hair back from her pale face. That was one thing I noticed most about her-her pale skin. Pale enough to be...

She noticed my staring and laughed. "I know what you're thinking. And you're right. I am a vampire-" she said, looking down at herself. "- but I'm also a human."

I gaped. How had she known I was a vampire? Wait a moment-half HUMAN? Well, that explained her green eyes.

"Y-you're half-human?" I stammered weakly. She nodded brightly.

"I'm a freak of nature. And proud of it. By the way, my name's Nicki."

"Bella," I replied, shaking her extended hand. "How did you know I was a vampire?"

"Your eyes," she responded, pointing. "They're red?"

Oh.

"Now how in the world are you half-human?" I had to ask. Me and my big mouth.

She smiled warmly. "Now, there's a story. See, my mother-"

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!" a voice roared. I turned in time to see Edward barreling toward me. I quickly turned back to Nicki, looked up (she was at least five foot nine) into her startling green eyes and instructed her, "Run."

And run we did. We laughed the whole time, our hair flying behind us. Edward eventually caught up to me, as I knew he would, and tackled me.

"Don't you ever run off like that again," he murmured furiously into my ear. All I could do was laugh and struggle to get out from underneath him.

"Who is this?" Edward asked when we were back on our feet, motioning to Nicki. She was still giggling.

"Oh, right," I said quickly. Edward, this is Nicki. Nicki, this is my husband, Edward Cullen. The rest of our family will be along shortly, so you can meet them too."

Edward, this girl is half-vampire, half-human. Can you believe that? I thought.

Oh my God, was all he could reply.

"OK, I trust you," Nicki said suddenly.

We looked at her curiously. She registered the blank looks on our faces and smiled. "I can tell if you're a trustworthy person by your aura," she explained. "It's my talent." A breeze caught her hair and it fluttered around her face like a fan.

"That's interesting," Edward murmured, staring at Nicki. She gave him the same odd look we had just given her.

"He can read minds," I offered. She nodded. Then her eyes narrowed.

"Stay out of my head, you, or I'll do something nasty," she threatened. By her tone I knew she was serious. Then she was happy again. Well, not completely. A deep sadness came from her, a sadness you could recognize without being able to read minds or sense emotions. It was disguised, opaque, but I knew it was there. We females have a clever sixth sense in this objective.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" someone asked behind us. I turned. The rest of my family was standing, waiting for an introduction.

"Nicki," I said, looking back at her, "meet the Cullens."


	9. The Volturi in England

If I could have blushed, I would have then. I sheepishly turned and smiled at my family. They were standing patiently, waiting for me to do something. I looked back to Nicki and hurriedly introduced her to everybody.

"This is Carlisle, Esme," Carlisle smiled and Esme gave a little wave, "Jasper and Alice," Alice grinned, exposing her glistening teeth and Jasper's forehead crumpled in confusion. "And Emmett and Rosalie. Careful about Emmett, he can snap you like a twig if you piss him off." Rosalie glared stoically-unsurprising, she was always like this with new people-and Emmett feigned hurt and shock.

"You know I'm working on my anger issues," he protested jokingly. I rolled my eyes but laughed.

Nicki laughed, too. "All right, you all seem trustworthy to me. Which is good. I'm Nicki, I'm half-vampire, half-human. The story is long and not all too interesting but if you'd like to hear it, come with me." She faced the direction we had run from and took off. My family gaped behind her, unable to move or react.

"Sh-she-she-," was all Jasper could stutter.

"Impossible," Carlisle whispered. Edward suddenly twisted, as if in pain, his eyes slamming shut.

"Possible, yes," he choked, bending double. "Easy to explain, no. Not something to be taken lightly." He fell forward onto the ground, panting, on his hands and knees. "Jane is nearby," he added, writhing in apparent agony. I gasped and felt the hole in my chest again. No, I had promised myself I would never have anything cause him such pain, ever again…

"Finally."

The cold, high-pitched voice echoed through my mind. Jane. We turned to face her and her evil, angelic smile. She cocked her head and stared into my eyes, still smiling.

"So she has been turned," she said, her red eyes boring holes in my own. "Has she been feeding on humans? Her irises are ruby."

"No, she has been fed only once on animal blood," Carlisle replied. The usually warm tone of his voice was gone, replaced by steel. Jane laughed and looked more intently into my eyes. Her smile melted into a frown, however, when she realized I wasn't on the ground like Edward, who was lying down to recover.

"And you are still resistant. Pity." Her smile was back on her face in no time. Suddenly I had a thought. If I could thought-speak with Edward, an effect of my reversing ability…why wouldn't it work on Jane? I concentrated on her eyes, determined to make her suffer as she had made Edward suffer.

To my delight, it worked. Her glistening teeth were now clenched in an agonized snarl. She fell to the ground, rolling and shaking uncontrollably. I laughed humorlessly, relishing in the backfire of her only weapon. As she cried out in pain, her short sobs growing into long screams, I felt unstoppable. Empowered. It wasn't until someone grabbed ahold of my shoulders and shook me did I become aware of my surroundings.

"Bella!" someone shouted frantically. Who I couldn't tell.

"Bella!" the voice shouted again, shaking me harder. "Snap out of it! BELLA!"

A hard slap cut through my trance. My cheek smarted and my eyes welled up again-damn those tears. My mind all but shut down. I blinked hard to clear my vision of the stupid saltwater and shook my head. Two scorching golden eyes were trained on my face, scared and slightly furious.

"What?" I asked, dazed. "What was that for?" I blinked again.

"You're driving Jane to the point of insanity!" a female voice screeched. My eyes darted around, trying to find the source. A small, black-haired girl was staring at me fearfully. In front of her was a small, childlike figure that was whimpering and moaning. It trembled from some unknown force. Suddenly it screamed and shook harder.

"Whatever you're doing, Bella, stop, or we're going to have a worse situation." The first voice spoke again. I looked back into the scared golden eyes.

"How do you know my name?" I inquired, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. I stepped back and looked around. There were more of them with the same eyes.

"Bella-" the first voice said, trying to comfort me.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME!" I screamed, stumbling backward, staring into each pair of golden eyes. "HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" The fear in their eyes said they knew me, but didn't recognize me. I continued backward until I tripped over a stone and fell. Then I tried crawling.

"Jasper, Emmett, come here, please," the first voice said, sounding strained. The two younger men with golden eyes came forward and dashed behind me, one grabbing my wrists, the other grabbing my waist. I screamed and twisted away from the unwelcome contact as they tried to hold me down. Who were these people? And why were they so interested in me?

Another boy, who looked about my age, crouched in front of me and smiled. I almost melted with the combined intensity of that gorgeous smile and those smoldering eyes…but I resisted. I had to, for my own protection.

"Isabella," he said patiently, his voice smooth as silk, "do you remember me?" A breeze blew past and ruffled his messy bronze hair. I shook my head, confused, still wary.

"Should I? I don't believe I have ever seen you before." Maybe he was confusing me with some other Isabella. They might let me go if they realized this. "Maybe you have the wrong Isabella. Now, can you take me back to Charlie? He'll be worried sick by now and I need to make dinner."

The boy's eyes tightened and filled with…anxiety? Confusion? Fear? They were impossible to read. The dazzling smile was gone. He leaned in further and I shrank back, afraid he might hit me or yell. A wonderful, sweet smell filled my nose and I closed my eyes, inhaling. Was he wearing cologne? It wasn't like any other cologne I had smelled.

"Bella," he said, reverting to my nickname," tell me. Do you have a boyfriend?" He choked a little on the word.

"No," I replied carefully. "Never had one. Why?"

The boy groaned and muttered something unintelligible. When he looked up again, a beautiful crooked smile was splayed on his face. His topaz eyes were still filled with some kind of emotion.

"Well, Bella, my name is Edward Cullen. Sit here while I go talk to my father, OK?"

I nodded. Maybe this was a psychology exam? I wasn't crazy. These people were, for asking me this stuff. I wanted to go home; Charlie was waiting, and was probably hungry and worried sick. I wondered if he had called Billy and his son-Jacob?-to look for me. Actually, he probably had half of Forks looking for me. Mike would only be too happy to find me and save me and be the hero.

"Where am I?" I asked the two boys holding me down. They exchanged a look before the bigger one replied, "I don't know if Edward would be very pleased with us if we told you." I shrugged and tried to answer the question myself until Edward came back with the tall, blond man that must be his father.

The man turned to Edward and said something-I caught the words "Hit too hard…new member of Volturi…Nicki…confused…trauma…"

"Are you talking about me?" I interrupted. "I'm not deaf."

The blond man smiled and kneeled at my side. "Hi, Bella," he said. "My name is Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I have a question for you."

"Is this a mental exam? Because the only mental people here are you," I said. Carlisle chuckled quietly.

"Bella, do you believe in vampires?" he asked me, suddenly a serious expression on his face.

I snorted; these people really were crazy. "Are you kidding me? 'Pale people who suck blood and can't go out in the sun?' Yeah, right."

He and Edward were silent. Edward bent down in front of me again and called someone named Alice over. The short, black-haired girl from earlier bounced over.

"Bella, do you know who this is?" Edward asked me, looking hopeful.

"A loud, short girl who looks small enough to be a fourth grader?" I guessed. Alice looked hurt and glared at Edward. His face fell, and he looked away.

"Taking the term 'mad with power' to a whole new level," he muttered. Before I could react, he grabbed my hands and was way too close to my face for comfort. He breathed, and the sweet smell filled my nose again. I noticed it was an icy sort of sweet.

"Please don't fight me," he whispered, "it's for our own good." Then he kissed me.

I did fight. I screamed, though it was somewhat muffled, and tried to pull away. His grip on my hands was strong though, and the boys behind me managed to hold me in one place. I tried pulling my head back but found that impossible as well. Finally I just stiffened and remained unresponsive until Edward pulled away, hurt and sadness clearly written on his perfect features.

"Edward, next time you want to do that, give us time to close our eyes," the big one behind me said teasingly.

Edward frowned at him. Now he looked to be on the verge of tears, even though he couldn't cry-hold on, how did I know that?-and looked at me sadly. "This is no laughing matter, Emmett," he whispered, holding my gaze. God, his eyes were beautiful, even when they were like this. Carlisle came over and laid a hand on Edward's shoulder to discuss something with him.

"Bella, do you know me?" the other boy holding me asked suddenly. I turned to look at him and laughed shortly.

"I don't know any of you," I said. "Is this little interrogation almost over? I want to go home."

"Almost," he replied, staring at the ground. "By the way, my name's Jasper." It sounded like it pained him to say this.

Alice left momentarily and brought two other women with her when she returned.

"Bella, this is Rosalie," she said, nodding to the beautiful blond one, "and Esme," the brunette, motherly figure.

"Hi, Bella," the blond said timidly. I smiled at her. Even though she seemed nice I couldn't help but feel slightly jealous toward her. Esme's bottom lip was trembling, an she couldn't look me in the eye. Edward and Carlisle walked back then, Edward staring up at the angry gray sky. Wow, that's something you don't get often in Forks. Ha.

"Bella, we'd like to show you something," Carlisle said. We're hoping you'll remember us after this."

"How do you remember someone you've never met?" I asked. Edward sighed a shaky sigh.

"Wait a moment, Carlisle," he said. "We don't have to show her the grave.

Grave? Who died?

"What do you mean?" Carlisle wanted to know. He sounded curious.

"Her bracelet," Edward replied simply. "Jasper, let go of her wrist. My hand was let go and I rubbed it, sure it was chafing. Jasper had one hell of a grip. Something glinted against my pale skin and I looked down at it. It was a silver bracelet with a small wooden wolf charm and a glittering crystal heart.

"Pretty," I remarked, holding it out to inspect it. I don't remember getting it, though. Maybe Renee sent it to me." I smiled, admiring the rainbows the small heart cast, even in the limited light.

"What is taking you so long?" a new voice complained from somewhere to the side of me. I squinted up to find a tall girl with stunning green eyes walking quickly toward us. "Hi, Bella," she added brightly, beaming when she saw me.

"Do I know you?" I asked. If I had I certainly would have remembered her. Her bright smile turned quickly into a frown.

"Remember? I'm Nicki," she said. Her eyebrows pulled together. Edward quickly pulled her to the side to explain something in a hushed, fast tone. She gasped.

"Well, why don't you try hitting her harder?" She strode over to where I sat, bemused. "This is going to hurt me a lot more than it's going to hurt you," she told me, before pulling her hand back. Edward quickly ran up behind her and grabbed her hand.

"No," he said fiercely, giving her a death glare. Her eyes flashed and she ripped her hand away, scowling. Edward sighed and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. His eyes had dark purple rings beneath them, I noted.

"Charlie probably has about half of Forks on the lookout for me," I offered, knowing I probably wasn't helping. "Mike-you know Mike Newton?-will want to be my hero." I chuckled. Of course he would. Something stirred Edward with Mike's name and his eyes flew open again. He grabbed my face in his hands.

"Isabella Marie Swan," he whispered. "You and I, and everyone else here, are vampires. We are the eternally damned, cursed to destroy the lives of others with our actions."

"You really are crazy," I complained, twisting out of his hands. He let me go, a shocked and hurt expression on my face.

"CHARLIE!" I yelled, running away from the strange people who claimed to know me. "HELP! I'M HERE! YOU CAN STOP LOOKING NOW! CHHHAAARRLLIIIEEE!" I was surprised I was running so fast without tripping. Still, I ran, just to escape the crazy people behind me.

I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. In that instant what felt like a huge, living boulder ran into me, slamming me onto the rocky earth. It took the wind out of me and stunned me for a moment.

"QUIET!" the rock roared. It was Edward. He clamped a hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming.

"What are you doing!" I shouted, but my voice was smothered, so it sounded more like "Maph ah oo ooe!"

"Saving you from the Volturi," he replied.

"Oo ah eh ah uh oouhe?" Who the hell are the Volturi? "I ah oo oh-eh-e e uh eh?" Why are you protecting me from them?"

"Just please be quiet, love," he hissed. Something about the panic in his voice made me obey. A voice floated on the sea-smelling air and made its way to my ears.

"Demetri, have you found them yet? Bella had left a little while ago…perhaps Edward followed her?"

Edward must have heard the voice too. Quickly he pulled me behind a large boulder and kept his hand over my mouth. I didn't mind it so much now, it smelled like his breath when he had kissed me.

"Nearly, Aro," another voice replied. "One moment…ah. Edward is behind that rock over there. I can't seem to find the girl though."

"Never mind. She is most likely with Edward. We shall see…" The voice came closer with every word until it was right above our heads. We both looked up simultaneously to see a very pale man with long black hair. He smiled down at us. I wondered how his face didn't crack, his skin seemed so paper-thin.

"Dear Bella," he said, looking straight down at me. "How wonderful! You have been turned." His eyes frightened me-they were a milky red color, sinister and macabre.

Noting my confusion as to who he was, he frowned and looked at Edward.

"She can't seem to remember anything about us," Edward explained. "Nothing we've done seems to initiate recall. We still can't determine the cause."

Aro, as I assumed his name was, laughed. "I can." Turning around to talk to someone behind him, he called, "Beatrice, it is working. You may lift the forgetfulness now."

"Aro, I was having so much fun!" a female voice complained.

"All right, you may leave it on for the time being." He turned back to look down at Edward and me.

"Of course," Edward muttered, seemingly disgusted with this Aro's actions.

"Now, Edward, if you'll give Bella to us," Aro said, as though he had not heard him. "She must be dismembered for harming the Volturi."

Abruptly Edward stood, dragging me up with him. "NO!" he roared at the pale man. One of his arms tightened around my waist. I flinched.

Aro seemed unfazed. "You know what the rules are, Edward," he said lightly. "She must be punished."

"No," Edward whispered, more quiet now. "She had no control over what she was doing. She is only a newborn, she can't be expected to have knowledge of the full extent of her powers!"

"Uh ih e, oo oh," I said.

"Shh," Edward murmured. "At least let her regain her memory," he asked of Aro. The pale man nodded and looked behind him.

All at once, everything came back. Meeting Edward at school, the meadow, James, Edward leaving me, Edward in Italy, the Volturi, Jake drowning, meeting Nicki… I screamed. Thousands of emotions tore through me like fire. Edward took his hand from my mouth. I shook my head and buried my face in his neck. My arms tightened like vices around him. I whimpered as the emotions subsided and dwindled down to one-icy, stabbing fear. He whispered words of comfort before looking up to glare at Aro.

"It had to be done," Aro said simply. "She was torturing poor Jane. Felix escorted her back to Italy a few moments ago."

"Please," Edward sighed, reduced to begging. "Please. She had no control."

There was silence from Aro as he mulled this over. "I will let this one pass," he said at last. "One more mistake, though, Bella, and you will no longer be a vampire." Wind ruffled my hair as he whisked he and his coven away. Edward wrapped his arms around my waist. After a few moments of absorbing the situation, I looked up into his eyes. They were scared and relieved at the same time.

"I was sure I'd lost you," he whispered. "That you would never remember me ever again."

"You're very hard to forget, Edward," I replied. He caught my lips with his and I smiled into the kiss, content and happy that I was not insane after all.

**Thanks to everyone who has been keeping up with this story! The reviews/favorite author/favorite story/story alerts have been going like crazy and I'm glad I can make you all so happy :)**

**Till next chapter,  
-xDLWx**


	10. Nicki's Story

When we finally broke it off I let go of all of him except his hand and squinted toward the horizon, trying to determine where I had run from. Edward, as though reading my mind, tugged me in a direction and I followed, planning an apology speech in my head as we went along.

Everyone was sitting on the ground when we found them, talking about someone losing it in hushed tones. I, supposedly, was the person who had "lost it." Alice was sitting rigid, upright, a glazed look in her eye. She jumped up when I kicked a stone out of my way, wrapped her arms around me and said, "Apology accepted. Though your speech didn't need to be that elaborate."

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, remembering the words I had planned to recite. Nicki pushed herself off the small boulder she sat on and looked at my family. Jasper, Carlisle and Emmett were still whispering quietly and Rosalie and Esme turned to look up at Nicki.

She cleared her throat before speaking. "Shall we go back to my house? I believe you wanted to know how I ended up half-human." The five on the ground slowly stood and smiled warily at me. I smiled back and nodded once, so they'd know I was fine now. Their expressions melted into ones of relief. Nicki grinned and took off again, the rest of us now following behind. She led us to a lonely little cottage right beside the rocky shoreline. It reminded me eerily of Jacob's-deep breath-house in La Push.

She pushed the door open and waved us inside, quickly building a fire and putting out cups of a familiar deep red liquid.

"I don't feed on it," she said, settling into a chair near the fireplace. Edward and I shared a large, overstuffed chair across from her, Alice and Jasper sat on the floor next to us, Carlisle and Esme took a seat on the couch and Rosalie and Emmett perched on a window seat. We all stared curiously at her for her remark.

"I tried, once," she continued. "I had to cough it back up, I felt so sick. I reverted to human food and found that went down easier, so I continued on it. Every once in a while I do have to drink it, but only once or twice a month."

We all nodded in unison, staring down into the red of our "Bloody Marys," as she called them. Carlisle immediately put his glass down and asked, "Is this human?"

Nicki's green eyes grew wide. "Of course not," she exclaimed. "I feed on rabbits." Carlisle sighed in relief and returned his glass to his hand.

"Now I suppose the question running through your minds now is, 'How did she end up half-and-half?'" she said, looking me in the eye. "The answer is long and complicated, so pay attention.

"My mother was a vampire. Unfortunately she fed on humans. One night when she was hunting she laid eyes on possibly the most gorgeous human being ever in existence, my father. He was equally attracted to her, being that she was a vampire and all. He was heavily intoxicated at the time, he was out with friends for a drink, around 1916. He and my mother got together and…well, you know what happens next."

Edward shifted uncomfortably next to me. Eternity, I reminded him. He nodded and stared into the bright orange flames roaring in the fireplace.

"My mother lost control," Nicki continued quietly, "and killed my father by accident. She was so ashamed of what she had done to him, and herself, that she almost went to the Volturi. Almost. But she discovered something about a month later, something completely unexpected, seemingly impossible. Me.

"At first she didn't believe it. It was unthinkable. She asked the Volturi about what she was to do, and the Volturi told her to kill the baby as soon as it was born. They were panicked when she first informed them, and when she inquired why, they promised to tell her when the time was right. Nine months passed, and one day, came along me. My mother swaddled me and tied me to a bedpost while she went and found a knife. She wasn't sure if I'd be human or vampire, so she assumed the first. She told me later that when she raised the knife to my throat, I opened my eyes and stared at her. When 

she saw my green eyes, and the innocence of new life buried in them, she dropped the knife and held me close, sobbing. I was less than a day old, and she could not kill me.

"In time, she decided that I was far too special a child to destroy so young. She fed me on goat's milk as an infant and normal food when I grew old enough to digest it. I never tasted blood until I was thirteen. One day, I will never forget this, my mother and I were creating a dish to bring over to our sick neighbor. I told her what one of my friends had done that day and she laughed. Abruptly she quieted, then gasped.

"'What is it, Mama?' I asked. She merely shook her head and whispered something even I could not hear. She shoved me roughly into the cellar, instructing me to stay down there and not come up for any reason whatsoever. I obeyed, and I will regret that for the rest of my life." She sighed sadly, staring down at her hands as she continued. "The front door crashed open and a harsh male voice demanded, 'Where is she?'

"'I don't know what you're talking about,' my mother replied. I could hear the tremors in her voice.

"'TELL US!' the voice shouted. I heard a thump. I scrambled to the cellar door and peeked through the crack to see what was happening. My mother was on the floor in front of a long-haired man I recognized from her descriptions. He was one of the Volturi.

"'NO! I WILL NOT KILL HER FOR YOUR GAIN!" my mother screamed.

"Then you go instead, Marisa," the man snarled, grabbing hold of her arm. Cleanly, so fast I almost didn't see it, he ripped it from her shoulder. I jammed my fist into my mouth to keep from crying out. My mother started screaming a high pitched scream as the man dismembered the rest of her, before he tore her head from her shoulders. I turned from the scene and fled back down to the safety of the cellar, where I cried quietly for hours. When I smelled the sweet smoke wafting in through the door, I knew my mother was gone."

The whole of the universe seemed to go silent, except for a hollow ringing in my ears. I looked to the faces of my family, and saw varying degrees of shock, horror, sadness and sympathy for this poor young girl we had only just met. Edward seemed especially troubled. He was shaking and gasping. I tightened my arms around his chest and the shaking subsided. He buried his nose in my hair. In that position I could still hear his small gasps.

Edward, are you all right?

No, he replied. Even in his head his voice was strained and laden with grief.

Is there something you'd like to share with me?

Pictures…in…her...head…horrifying, he choked.

Esme, motherly figure that she was, was the first to stand and wrap her arms around Nicki.

"Poor baby," she whispered. Nicki's eyes filled with tears, which soon bubbled over her eyelids down her face. I had to remind myself that she was half-human and thus able to do this.

"How old are you, Nicki?" Carlisle asked gently.

"16," she said hoarsely. _Only two years younger than me, _I thought. "I'm only getting older," she continued. "I don't know why, and I'm not going to go to the Volturi to find out."

"Is that why you ran and hid when they appeared to take Jane away?" Carlisle pressed. She nodded and the tears came faster.

"I'm so terrified that one day they'll find me. I'm not immortal, and I don't want to die." She whimpered like a child. My heart ached to comfort her, but Edward was equally in need of me. Alice made a noise like she was going to scream, then rose quickly to join Esme in their hug. In the midst of their pale arms I could see Nicki's eyes staring into my own with a torture hidden inside their green depths.

I remembered the sadness I had originally detected from her. This was an awful story and one that could make the happiest person depressed, but I knew that this wasn't the reason for her sadness. I glanced at Jasper momentarily and saw that his face was crumpled in confusion still.

"Are you picking up on that sadness too?" I asked in a low tone. He nodded, surprised.

"How did you know?" he whispered. I shrugged.

"It's a female thing," I replied. "Do you have any idea what could be causing it?"

He shook his head. "I'd have thought it would be her past, but it doesn't appear to be that way. Does Edward have any ideas?"

I glanced sideways at Edward's paler-than-normal face, still stricken, and shook my head.

"I don't think he's in any state to figure something like that out." Jasper nodded and turned his head to look at Nicki.

"Thank you for the hug," she said, her voice more composed. "But you can let go now. Half-humans need to breathe, too."

Alice and Esme released her and she inhaled deeply. Her eyes were no longer wet but red-rimmed. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I really need to stop being such a crybaby."

"It's okay to be a sensitive person when such a sensitive subject is brought up," Edward said softly. I looked up into his eyes-his voice was velvety-smooth, but there was no disguising the emotion in his eyes. He cleared his throat.

"Nicki, are there any empty houses around here?" I asked suddenly, swiveling my head to look at her. She nodded, confused.

"There's a few. Actually, a lot. I'm the only one who lives here."

It was my turn to be confused. "But there were so many homes-"

"Yes," she interrupted. "They all died awhile ago. A disease overtook the village and wiped them all out-except me and my mother. When she was killed I was the only one left."

Carlisle straightened up, stood and walked out the front door. We all stared after him. It wasn't like him to get up and leave during a get-together. He was back shortly, however.

"There are 4 houses nearby that are close to each other and empty," he said. "We can stay there."

"But what about the plan before?" Emmett asked. The rest of us agreed silently.

"That was before we met Nicki," Carlisle replied, turning to look at me. I smiled awkwardly.

"We're going to stay here," he continued, turning his head to look at Nicki instead. "To protect you."

Her face lit up like a Christmas tree at Carlisle's announcement.


End file.
